This talk has been approved by New York State for 2 hours of Continuing Education Credit for LMSWs and LCSWs.

This presentation will describe an approach to treating substance misuse which is based on the principles of Harm Reduction Therapy and which explicitly integrates behavioral and psychoanalytic ideas and techniques. The role of trauma and dissociation will be highlighted as well as the importance of the therapeutic relationship and how enactments can be identified, interpreted and used in the context of behavioral interventions and coaching for sobriety or moderation. Clinical vignettes will be presented as illustration, followed by group discussion and an invitation for group members to present cases of their own.

Dr. Debra Rothschild Ph.D., CASAC is a New York State licensed psychologist, certified psychoanalyst and credentialed alcohol and substance abuse counselor in private practice in New York City. She is on the faculty and a graduate of the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and she is a clinical supervisor at City College, Yeshiva University and Long Island University clinical psychology programs. Debra is on the executive board and twice past president of the New York State Psychological Association Division on Addictions. She publishes and lectures widely on the integration of psychoanalytic thought with harm reduction psychotherapy and substance use treatment.